Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 773

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 773

‘Did this person go around doing this to everyone he met?’

If he went around to everyone he met saying ‘Senior, junior, please teach me some magic,’ then such a bad reputation would be understandable.

Of course, it was better to have passionate academic enthusiasm than none at all, but there had to be some limit to it.

It was understandable that people would be disgusted if he kept chasing and bothering them for years.

‘Oh no. This isn’t the time for this.’

Lee Han quickly came to his senses.

Right now there was an armed robber, no, an armed senior in front of him.

And for some reason, that armed senior was evaluating Lee Han very highly.

“There seems to be some misunderstanding, senior. How can you determine pass or fail based on just that conversation?”

Lee Han spoke firmly because he didn’t want to teach a 5th year senior.

And this statement wasn’t particularly wrong either.

‘Making me pass after just one conversation. No matter how I look at it, it’s suspicious.’

There was a high possibility that he planned to force him to teach regardless of what he said.

“Haha. Junior. Do you know how many mages have taught me? I can tell whether someone has the ability to teach me or not just by hearing one word.”

Catten laughed while proudly saying something that didn’t seem like a boast at all.

Of course, Lee Han couldn’t laugh. It wasn’t funny at all.

“Is… that so? What exactly was the part that…?”

“First of all, the mages who tried to teach me all started with basic arithmetic and tried their best to somehow get numbers into my head. But you didn’t do that.”

“…”

Lee Han wanted to say ‘That’s because Senior Diret told me in advance!’ but he couldn’t bring himself to rat out Diret and held back.

‘Oh no. I should have said Senior Yukveltire told me.’

“Just from that, I can tell that you’re one of the top mages among those who tried to teach me.”

“That seems like excessive praise… but, weren’t there people like this among your White Tiger Tower friends?”

“Hmm. They all tried to forcibly teach numbers first.”

‘Damn it. Moradi. That smart bastard!’

Lee Han inwardly raged at the innocent Giselle.

To get hit like this!

‘I should have said I’d teach numbers first too.’

He had passed because of what he heard from Diret and his experience teaching the 1st year failing candidates.

“Moreover, you suggested a different method from existing magic practice, didn’t you? I’ve heard explanations of 【Lesser Flame Barrier】 dozens of times, but you’re the first person I’ve seen who was prepared to set their body on fire when casting it.”

“…”

This time it was Professor Jorzic of the Vienmalpa family’s turn to be blamed.

Lee Han cursed that Professor Jorzic would never become principal.

“That’s because I have too much mana and have difficulty controlling it…”

“You experienced such difficulties!? Even better! You might really be able to teach me!”

Catten was very pleased by the hardships his junior had experienced.

If he was a genius who could succeed in taking courses from all schools despite experiencing such pain, he might be able to teach Catten himself.

“…Please don’t be too disappointed if I can’t teach you well.”

Lee Han spoke half-giving up.

He thought that if it didn’t work out, Catten would give up on his own.

The 5th year senior stroked his characteristically long sideways whiskers of a cat beastman and laughed.

“Disappointment! I’ve failed so many times already, would I be disappointed by something like that? Junior. Don’t worry too much. Come. Come here.”

Catten dragged Lee Han forward with quick steps.

Lee Han asked in puzzlement.

“Where are we going?”

“Ah. As I said, just as you’ll teach me magic, I must also pass on swordsmanship to you. I think if you learn more swordsmanship, it will definitely help with your magic training too.”

‘Is he telling me to cut down professors and run away?’

In Lee Han’s view, the only way swordsmanship could help with magic training was cutting down professors and escaping.

“Do you think I’ll be able to learn your swordsmanship, senior?”

“I’ve heard from the tower juniors, and it’s definitely possible!”

“…”

Resolving to catch the White Tiger Tower 2nd year students like mice when he returned, Lee Han moved his steps.

“You took swordsmanship lectures last year, so you must have learned about intent. Junior.”

“Yes.”

In the secret traditions passed down orally among the Empire’s ancient swordsmen, there were ambiguous phrases like ‘put anger into your sword’ or ‘put faith into your sword.’

This wasn’t simply an emotional training method. Swordsmen could actually change the nature of mana through sensation and instinct.

Professor Ingoldel explained this as putting intent into the sword.

“When you become skilled at handling mana, completely understand sword techniques, and finally learn to condense intent in your sword beyond the level of simply putting it in…!”

Suddenly the sword shone like a star.

Any mage could easily see light sources, but the light emanating from the senior’s sword now contained a mystique fundamentally different from such light.

It was an aura, a crystallization of mana condensed beyond what a mage’s reason could understand.

“Amazing! How did you come to realize this…”

At Lee Han’s flattery, Catten seriously pondered.

Then he answered.

“The punishment room was probably the biggest factor. Junior. Staying in the punishment room continuously made me think deeply about swordsmanship.”

“…I, I see.”

“If you can’t handle mana, you can’t gather it in your sword; if you can’t handle techniques, you can’t control it; and if you can’t gather intent, you can’t condense it. You can’t lack any of the three.”

Lee Han nodded.

Lee Han himself knew this well, having attempted a pseudo-aura by forcibly hammering mana.

Ultimately, since this aura’s core was mana condensed beyond limits, it was impossible to create with mana alone without enlightenment.

“Junior, you need to complete this first.”

“…Uh, do you have any advice?”

Catten pondered seriously again.

“Hmm. If you do as I did, during vacation in the punishment room…”

“I’ll do my best within lecture hours.”

Lee Han answered quickly.

Fear washed over him that if he answered wrong here, he wouldn’t be able to leave Einroguard even during vacation.

“Indeed. Since you’re a genius who takes courses from all schools, it should be quite possible.”

‘Senior Catten really didn’t call me here to torment me, did he?’

Even hearing the senior’s high evaluation of him didn’t make him particularly happy.

“Now, once you complete this aura, the next step is…”

Along with his words, Catten swung his aura toward the lava. The sword burning like a star traced a shining trajectory.

It was an attack with tremendous destructive power, and it actually ended there. Lee Han wondered what he was trying to show, feeling puzzled.

“…Now!”

Catten’s sword dance had only just begun.

After swinging once and then swinging again, reality in the area where the aura passed began to change very subtly.

“!!!!”

Having directly witnessed Diret’s small world magic, Lee Han realized what his opponent was doing and was shocked.

Right now his opponent was summoning small world magic by swinging his sword!

Of course, it wasn’t a sophisticated and systematic small world with order like the 【Pentagrammaton】 that Diret had used.

It was a primitive and crude, limited and strange small world that only applied for the brief moment of swinging the sword.

But even so, a small world was definitely a small world.

As reality’s rules changed, the aura suddenly transformed into water and explosively scattered.

Catten drew this water with a shout and created a barrier.

“Hup… Ha!”

Such shouts seemed wasteful as the water barrier couldn’t be maintained for long. The barrier lasted a few seconds then instantly lost power and disappeared.

Unlike magic which allowed various and complex processes, swordsmanship could produce momentarily destructive phenomena, but maintaining a water barrier like that was nearly impossible.

Rather, maintaining it for nearly a few seconds was itself an amazing achievement.

Simply constructing aura was already impressive, but to implement a miniature world with it.

“Huff… huff. Did you see that just now, junior?”

“I saw it.”

Catten also spoke while panting, as that secret technique had quite a burden on his stamina.

“This too… was completed… in the punishment room…”

“…”

‘Is he a punishment room maniac?’

“Amazing. To think you could implement a miniature world with a sword.”

“Miniature world? What is that, junior?”

“…”

Lee Han never expected a 5th year student wouldn’t even know what a miniature world was.

“Well… so it’s like this. Magic is roughly 5th circle…”

“…Gasp! There was such a thing in magic! I thought it only existed in swordsmanship!”

‘…I really think you should go to a knight order.’

Lee Han was bewildered by Catten but inwardly surprised.

Every time he faced knights like Alarlong or Jicklin, he felt a strength that went beyond simply being excellent at swordsmanship or being able to use aura, and if swordsmen who reached such heights could do things like this, it made sense.

Even the Blue Rock Sword technique Lee Han learned – hadn’t Alarlong not taught him the latter techniques?

‘To think even miniature worlds are possible with swordsmanship.’

Suddenly curious, Lee Han asked.

“Senior. Is this kind of thing also possible with swordsmanship?”

“What kind?”

“Well, like this…”

Lee Han briefly explained the unique world magic he knew about.

Not simply changing a mage’s personal world, but the ultimate secret of mages that recreates a much wider area itself with the mage’s personal order.

When he explained that realm the Skeleton Principal had shown once, Catten burst into laughter.

“Magic can’t do such things either, junior! How could an individual mage color such a wide area with their own world!”

“…Senior. This is real magic.”

“?!?!”

Catten was shocked.

Only after hearing Lee Han’s full explanation could this 5th year senior sheepishly accept it.

“To think such grand magic existed… Junior. I’m truly surprised.”

“Have you never heard of it?”

“Well, I only ask about easy magic…”

Catten had heard 【Lower Fire Barrier】 dozens of times but had never heard of miniature worlds or unique worlds.

“And as far as I know, such things are impossible with swordsmanship. Hmm. You can twist the area where you swing your sword… but I can’t even imagine how to change such a wide area.”

Unlike a mage’s miniature world, swordsmen could only momentarily twist reality in that brief area where they swung their sword.

It was a natural limitation since it was deployed through instinct and sensation.

Of course, from a mage’s perspective, even this felt like an incredible deception, a shortcut…

“Well, that’s not what’s important. I probably won’t reach that level anyway.”

“Junior. What are you saying? Don’t define your own limits from the start. You can do it, junior. What mindset did you have when learning swordsmanship last year?”

“Hmm.”

Lee Han thought he shouldn’t mention that he took it thinking he’d coast on grades.

“I wanted to… seriously walk the path of the sword…”

“I knew it! Junior. Just as I don’t give up on magic, you shouldn’t give up on swordsmanship either.”

“Thank… thank you.”

“Ever since I realized this secret technique, I’ve been trying to keep increasing such techniques. Hmm. Someday I’ll be able to deploy them as diversely as magic, nothing to envy.”

‘It’s the madness of swordsmanship…’

Lee Han listened while inwardly horrified.

“Junior. Think about it. I achieved this much with just a few magic spells I couldn’t learn properly. How many secret techniques could I create if I learned more magic?”

“It’s truly frightening!”

“Hmm? Frightening?”

“I meant frightening in a positive way. Like, like the punishment room.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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